PaytmImage Credit source: PTI
One97 Communications Limited, the company operating the digital payments platform Paytm, has become a majority Indian owned and controlled company with the stake of domestic investors increasing to 50.3 percent by the end of March 2026. This reflects a significant change in the ownership structure of companies in the financial-technology sector. According to regulatory information, the stake of domestic institutional investors in the company increased to a record 23.1 percent in the March quarter, which is 2.8 percentage points higher on a quarterly basis and 9.1 percentage points on an annual basis.
Increased share of mutual funds
Mutual fund companies played a leading role in increasing the stake of domestic institutional investors. The total share of mutual funds increased from 14.3 percent to 16.6 percent, while the number of funds investing increased from 36 to 41. The share of insurance companies also increased from about 4.8 percent to 5.1 percent. Tata AIA Life Insurance and SBI Life Insurance are among the major investors who increased investment. Improvement has also been seen in the operational performance of the company.
Profit for the third consecutive time in December quarter
In the December quarter, the company registered profit for the third consecutive time and earned a net profit of Rs 225 crore, while its revenue increased by 20 percent to Rs 2,194 crore. The number of customer-based merchants connected to Paytm’s platform increased by 24 percent to more than 1.44 crore.
Brokerage houses Bank of America and Bernstein have highlighted the company’s strong fundamentals. Bank of America said the company is strongly positioned in high-revenue areas such as merchant payments and lending and has improved margins due to its diversified business structure. At the same time, Bernstein said that the company’s merchant revenue is almost double that of its nearest competitor and its profitability continues to improve.
